113 research outputs found
Transport in rough self-affine fractures
Transport properties of three-dimensional self-affine rough fractures are
studied by means of an effective-medium analysis and numerical simulations
using the Lattice-Boltzmann method. The numerical results show that the
effective-medium approximation predicts the right scaling behavior of the
permeability and of the velocity fluctuations, in terms of the aperture of the
fracture, the roughness exponent and the characteristic length of the fracture
surfaces, in the limit of small separation between surfaces. The permeability
of the fractures is also investigated as a function of the normal and lateral
relative displacements between surfaces, and is shown that it can be bounded by
the permeability of two-dimensional fractures. The development of channel-like
structures in the velocity field is also numerically investigated for different
relative displacements between surfaces. Finally, the dispersion of tracer
particles in the velocity field of the fractures is investigated by analytic
and numerical methods. The asymptotic dominant role of the geometric
dispersion, due to velocity fluctuations and their spatial correlations, is
shown in the limit of very small separation between fracture surfaces.Comment: submitted to PR
On the variation of the gauge couplings during inflation
It is shown that the evolution of the (Abelian) gauge coupling during an
inflationary phase of de Sitter type drives the growth of the two-point
function of the magnetic inhomogeneities. After examining the constraints on
the variation of the gauge coupling arising in a standard model of inflationary
and post-inflationary evolution, magnetohydrodynamical equations are
generalized to the case of time evolving gauge coupling. It is argued that
large scale magnetic fields can be copiously generated. Other possible
implications of the model are outlined.Comment: 5 pages in RevTex style, one figur
The nutritional phenotype in the age of metabolomics
The concept of the nutritional phenotype is proposed as a defined and integrated set of genetic, proteomic, metabolomic, functional, and behavioral factors that, when measured, form the basis for assessment of human nutritional status. The nutritional phenotype integrates the effects of diet on disease/wellness and is the quantitative indication of the paths by which genes and environment exert their effects on health. Advances in technology and in fundamental biological knowledge make it possible to define and measure the nutritional phenotype accurately in a cross section of individuals with various states of health and disease. This growing base of data and knowledge could serve as a resource for all scientific disciplines involved in human health. Nutritional sciences should be a prime mover in making key decisions that include: what environmental inputs (in addition to diet) are needed; what genes/proteins/metabolites should be measured; what end-point phenotypes should be included; and what informatics tools are available to ask nutritionally relevant questions. Nutrition should be the major discipline establishing how the elements of the nutritional phenotype vary as a function of diet. Nutritional sciences should also be instrumental in linking the elements that are responsive to diet with the functional outcomes in organisms that derive from them. As the first step in this initiative, a prioritized list of genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic as well as functional and behavioral measures that defines a practically useful subset of the nutritional phenotype for use in clinical and epidemiological investigations must be developed. From this list, analytic platforms must then be identified that are capable of delivering highly quantitative data on these endpoints. This conceptualization of a nutritional phenotype provides a concrete form and substance to the recognized future of nutritional sciences as a field addressing diet, integrated metabolism, and health
Evaluation of regression models in metabolic physiology: predicting fluxes from isotopic data without knowledge of the pathway
This study explores the ability of regression models, with no knowledge of the underlying physiology, to estimate physiological parameters relevant for metabolism and endocrinology. Four regression models were compared: multiple linear regression (MLR), principal component regression (PCR), partial least-squares regression (PLS) and regression using artificial neural networks (ANN). The pathway of mammalian gluconeogenesis was analyzed using [U−(13)C]glucose as tracer. A set of data was simulated by randomly selecting physiologically appropriate metabolic fluxes for the 9 steps of this pathway as independent variables. The isotope labeling patterns of key intermediates in the pathway were then calculated for each set of fluxes, yielding 29 dependent variables. Two thousand sets were created, allowing independent training and test data. Regression models were asked to predict the nine fluxes, given only the 29 isotopomers. For large training sets (>50) the artificial neural network model was superior, capturing 95% of the variability in the gluconeogenic flux, whereas the three linear models captured only 75%. This reflects the ability of neural networks to capture the inherent non-linearities of the metabolic system. The effect of error in the variables and the addition of random variables to the data set was considered. Model sensitivities were used to find the isotopomers that most influenced the predicted flux values. These studies provide the first test of multivariate regression models for the analysis of isotopomer flux data. They provide insight for metabolomics and the future of isotopic tracers in metabolic research where the underlying physiology is complex or unknown
LSST: from Science Drivers to Reference Design and Anticipated Data Products
(Abridged) We describe here the most ambitious survey currently planned in
the optical, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). A vast array of
science will be enabled by a single wide-deep-fast sky survey, and LSST will
have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is
driven by four main science themes: probing dark energy and dark matter, taking
an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and
mapping the Milky Way. LSST will be a wide-field ground-based system sited at
Cerro Pach\'{o}n in northern Chile. The telescope will have an 8.4 m (6.5 m
effective) primary mirror, a 9.6 deg field of view, and a 3.2 Gigapixel
camera. The standard observing sequence will consist of pairs of 15-second
exposures in a given field, with two such visits in each pointing in a given
night. With these repeats, the LSST system is capable of imaging about 10,000
square degrees of sky in a single filter in three nights. The typical 5
point-source depth in a single visit in will be (AB). The
project is in the construction phase and will begin regular survey operations
by 2022. The survey area will be contained within 30,000 deg with
, and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, ,
covering the wavelength range 320--1050 nm. About 90\% of the observing time
will be devoted to a deep-wide-fast survey mode which will uniformly observe a
18,000 deg region about 800 times (summed over all six bands) during the
anticipated 10 years of operations, and yield a coadded map to . The
remaining 10\% of the observing time will be allocated to projects such as a
Very Deep and Fast time domain survey. The goal is to make LSST data products,
including a relational database of about 32 trillion observations of 40 billion
objects, available to the public and scientists around the world.Comment: 57 pages, 32 color figures, version with high-resolution figures
available from https://www.lsst.org/overvie
Diversity of the polar lipids of the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes
Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive bacterium that can adapt to high salinity and cold. Because the membrane lipids may play a role in its survival and adaptation, we have examined the polar lipids of L. monocytogenes. Extraction of total lipids from L. monocytogenes yielded 7 ± 1 mg/mL wet cells. Polar lipids represented 64% of total lipids and contained 9% lipid-phosphorus. Polar lipids were separated into 14 components by two- dimensional thin layer chromatography. Eight components (88% of polar lipids) contained lipid-phosphorus; among these was one major component (34% of polar lipids). Two other phospholipids were ninhydrin-positive components and accounted for 15% of the polar lipids. Orcinol staining revealed two glyco- or sulfo-lipids accounting for 9% of polar lipids. Five components (4% of polar lipids) were amino components free of phosphorus. The major component contained 46% of its fatty acids as 15:0 anteiso, 24% as 17:0 anteiso, and 11% as 15:0 iso. The fatty acid profile of the remaining polar lipids was variable, consisting primarily of 16:0, 18:0, 15:0 anteiso, and 17:0 anteiso. Their unsaturation level was ≤20%; however, the major phosphoaminolipid component was 46% unsaturated. The ratios of 15:0 anteiso/17:0 anteiso and 15:0 anteiso/15:0 iso were similar in all classes, averaging 1.5 and 4.5, respectively. Since the adaptation process to stressful environments involves activation of a membrane transport system for the protectant glycine betaine, the membrane lipids may play a role in enabling transport
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